Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Rwanda’s ICT minister, has announced that a nationwide 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network will be commercially deployed in August 2014. The network is currently in its trial phase.

In March 2013 the Rwanda Development Board enlisted South Korea’s KT Corp to establish a public-private joint venture company, Olleh Rwanda Networks Limited, in order to develop, construct and operate a nationwide 4G LTE network, as well as providing wholesale LTE infrastructure services to customer-facing cellcos and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs). KT will control the management of the firm, while the Rwandan government will provide financial and administrative support. The would-be wholesale LTE provider is set to cover 95% of the population with LTE by 2017.